Category Archives: God’s Will

Advice, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Comfort, Completeness, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Family, Fatherhood, God's Will, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Prayer, Sanctification, Thanksgiving

THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

1 THESSALONIANS 5:23

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

I thought it interesting that Paul used the word “entirely.” And when I looked deeper it was even more interesting. Did you know that word is only used one time in the New Testament? So, what does it mean? It means to be wholly completed, to reach the end result. Paul is praying that the God of peace would perfect the Thessalonians’ sanctification. Can you imagine being completely, wholly sanctified on earth?

And Paul prays that their body, soul and spirit would be kept (guarded, protected) completely. “Completely” is only used twice itself. It means a divinely allotted wholeness. Wow! Only God is capable of anything divine, and He wants to guard you completely. What a promise and prayer from Paul!

APPLICATION

How do you explain completeness and entirety to children? Do your children like puzzles? I do. I enjoy a good puzzle. But one of the most frustrating things in the world is when you are missing pieces. The puzzle isn’t complete. The entire picture isn’t shown.

Get one of their puzzles and remove a piece before you start putting it together with them. They may recognize fairly quickly that a piece is missing, if they have put this puzzle together a lot. That could be even more frustrating. They know what the missing piece is. Explain to them that the Lord knows exactly what “pieces” we need in our lives. He has them all, if we will just let Him supply them and keep them.

What piece are you missing? Are you whole and complete in Him? He wants to sanctify you entirely. He wants to keep you completely. Will you let Him? 

Father, You are the ONLY one who can do that for me. I know that. Help me to surrender ALL my pieces to You today. I want You to “put me together” according to Your master plan.

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LET IT GO

1 THESSALONIANS 5:22

“abstain from every form of evil.” 

I love to dig in and discover what words really mean in Scripture. A lot of the time the English translation just doesn’t do it justice. Today’s verse is an example of that. The word “abstain” seems to imply to just not do something, to keep yourself away from evil. But look at the definition of the Greek word. It means “to have one thing by separating from (letting go of) another.”

You can’t have that which is good if you hold on to the evil stuff. You can’t live in the flesh and the spirit at the same time. The two just don’t co-exist. Also, this word is in the middle voice which means YOU have to do this. No one is going to do it for you.  So, I must let go of the evil, fleshly stuff in my life in order to fully embrace the godly things the Lord has for me.

APPLICATION

This can be a fun verse to illustrate to your children. Get a bunch of their toys or stuffed animals. Load their hands and arms up with them to the point that they can’t hold anymore. Then place in front of them their favorite candy bar or dessert. Tell them they can have it, but they can only use their hands to get it.

I bet they will literally drop all that stuff in their hands, lol.  Who doesn’t want their favorite dessert, right? Now, explain to them this verse with that illustration fresh in their heads (and the treat fresh on their lips). God has such wonderful things for us, but we can only access them when we let go of the worldly things that we are holding on to. We can’t have the peace of God until we let go of the fears in our life. We can’t experience true joy until we abandon our will for His.

What do you need to let go of today in order to obtain what God has for you? It may be a job that you KNOW is holding you back from following the Lord. It could be a person whom you KNOW is holding you back from living for the Lord. Whatever it is, let it go. Let the Lord give you the BETTER thing. But you have to let go first. It’s your choice.

Lord, I am so thankful that whatever I let go of is replaced by something so much better by You. I will abandon the fleshly for the spiritual. I will trust You to give me exactly what I need for this life.

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SAFEKEEPING

1 THESSALONIANS 5:21

“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;” 

You’ve probably been asked this question before. If you had to rescue one thing from a burning house (people not included), what would it be? Some people think of pictures. Others think of money or jewelry. But what would you try to save?

I would grab by Bible and my guns. I know, that sounds like a typical conservative response, but let me explain. The guns help me keep my family safe from those who might want to harm them physically. My Bible keeps me safe spiritually as I read and meditate on His Word.  Both are worth safekeeping to me. Now, you may disagree with my choices. That’s okay. We all hold different things dear.

APPLICATION

Ask your children what they would grab first. They might just surprise you. And I bet, depending on the age of your children, they will pick different things. Isn’t it funny how our priorities change with age? Little Johnny might grab his game system. Susie might snatch up her doll. Or they might just shock you and grab their Bible too. Wouldn’t that bless you?

Notice how a boy will choose very different things than a girl. Our minds think differently. That’s okay. That’s how God made us. But the important thing to remember is God is keeping us safe. He ALWAYS chooses us. Once we are His through the acceptance of His Son, He promises to keep us safe, even for eternity.

Are you keeping the “right” things safe? Is your soul secure in the competent hands of Jesus? He will keep you safe. Why? Because He has “examined” you and found you worthy. You are worthy because of His death on the cross. Will you trust Him today to guard your heart?

Guardian of my soul, I praise You for Your ability to keep me and all Your children safe. You are more than able to protect and defend me in my darkest days. I love You, Lord.

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LET IT BURN

1 THESSALONIANS 5:19

“Do not quench the Spirit;” 

Have you ever had heartburn? Boy, I have. You’ll do just about anything to get that burning to stop. You will drink cold water, milk, take antacids or other medications. You just want your throat and stomach to cool down. 

The Spirit burns within us also, but it’s a good thing. He wants us to know He is there. He will burden us, entice us and encourage us. He will prod us, direct us and lead us. So, what did Paul mean here about not quenching the Spirit? The word means to extinguish or put out (as in a fire). The Spirit of God is often symbolized by a flame. He should burn within us, not like heartburn, but as a catalyst to light our fire for the Lord.

APPLICATION

Get a couple of candles to light with your kids, but make sure one of those is a trick candle that they can’t blow out. Light them both and talk about this verse. Explain to them that the Holy Spirit is like that flame that burns. He is in us to energize us spiritually to hear from and live for the Lord.

Now have them blow the candles out. Of course, one goes out and the other one won’t. Tell them the Lord wants us to keep our flame of the Holy Spirit burning. We shouldn’t do anything to put out the flame, to quench it. The Holy Spirit is NOT like the candle that blew out easy. We all make mistakes and sin. Quenching the Spirit has to be a deliberate attempt, just like it is to put out the trick candle. It takes a certain effort.

Have you quenched the Spirit in your life? Have you ignored His prompting so long that He has stopped “talking to you”? Well, He is still talking. The problem is you have stopped listening. You have allowed your ears to block His voice. Confess this to the Lord. Reopen that line of communication. Let the Spirit burn within you.

I want to feel the burn, Lord. I want to be so controlled by the Spirit that the things of this world can’t touch me. Keep me sensitive to His leading.

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WHAT IS GOD’S WILL?

1 THESSALONIANS 5:18

“in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

I want to challenge you to do a word study. Look up how many times the Bible mentions “God’s will” or “the will of God.” Make a list of all the things it says is God’s will for your life. The list may just surprise you. And here we have one more thing that is included in God’s will for you – to give thanks in everything.

Notice, Paul didn’t say “for” everything. It’s hard to thank God for some things. But IN whatever situation, we can thank Him. My brother and sister-in-law give thanks for my brother’s cancer he had several years ago. Now, they don’t thank Him FOR the cancer, but they are truly grateful for the opportunity it gave them to trust Him afresh with his very life. 

APPLICATION

Help your little Elrod or Gertrude make a list of things for which they are thankful. They will probably list the good stuff. Most of us would also. But help them think of some things that were difficult. Talk about what they learned through those things and how they can thank God for them. This is a deliberate choice on our part. We don’t naturally do this.

How about helping them thank God for the difficult people in their lives? “What?! Carl, you can’t mean that!” Well, I don’t, but God does. He places people in our lives who will challenge us and whom He will use to make us more like Him. We can thank Him for that. We don’t enjoy the process, but we sure love the outcome.

Are you thankful? Are you giving the Lord all the gratitude for all the things He allows to touch you? If you are like me, you probably aren’t. It’s hard to thank Him when your eyes are on the situation. Look up. Know that He is there. His will, His desire for you, His best offer can be accepted or rejected. What will you do with it.

Lord, I must confess that sometimes I find it hard to thank You for some of the things that come into my life. But I must trust that if You allow them, You have a purpose for them. For that I am thankful.

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